Evening at Times Square and Ground Zero

New York Travel Blog

As the NJ Transit bus rounded the elevated curve leading to the Lincoln Tunnel, Mid-Town Manahttan came into view basking in the afternoon sun. The bus arrived at the Port Authority Bus Terminal, the world's busiest bus station, on 8th Avenue between 40th and 42nd Streets.

We headed along 42nd street in the direction of Times Square. Attractions that made Times Square famous soon came into view: Madame Tussads', Ripley's, and One Times Square where the New Years Eve ball is dropped. The New Amsterdam Theatre, one of the oldest still-operating Broadway theatres, is now a venue for live Disney musicals and was showing Mary Poppins: the Musical.

Times Square was as bright as ever with throngs of people enjoyng the pleasant evening. It's once again the place to congregate in New York.

Arriving at the Port Authority

(Even in the 1980s Times Square still had its seedy side.) So many photos to take! I like experimenting with night photogprahy and this evening and the briliantly lit billboards and ads covering nearly every building facade provided innumerable opprtunities. Julia had heard about the Ferris wheel in the Toys R Us store. She and Chelsea wanted to check it out. So, we went in and they waited in line for a ride. After more exploration of Tmes Square and the nearby Theatre District, we walked up Broadway, crossing over to Seventh Avenue for dinner at Carnegie Deli.

We all wanted to see Ground Zero this evening. We took the subway Downtown to Chambers Street where we could walk to the Ground Zero site. I led the way, first down then down West Broadway. The PATH station appeared and beyond it the open space of Ground Zero. It had changed since 2004, and was now largely a construction site. Still, the size of the empty parcel and its meaning gives one pause.

Across Church Street, St. Paul's Chapel could be seen in the darkness. St. Paul's was built in 1766, modeled after St. Martin-in-the-Fields in London. Located directly across the street from the World Trade Center towers, it remarkably survived the devastation surrounding it on 9/11. In hte weeks following, St. Paul's became a center for rescue and recovery workers and for people searching for family and friends.